Shaft-coupling.



.i'lquplicaton filed July 1i, 3.91..

To @ZZ 'Hallum t may conce/m oe it known. that l, Eownnn 3. l' Amann? citizen oit the 'United States, residing at Detroit, in tl'io county ol. iii/'agria State of Michi gan, llave invented certain new and use in t-Couolings; and owing' to be a "full, clear, on oit die invention, sich in tbc to lie and use. the saine, reference had to the accoinpany` ing; drawings d to the characters of reiq- @rence marked lioreoin which forni a part o' spccilication.

This invention relates 'to shaft couplings., and cons in the novel features of coustruction hereinafter described and pointed out pa 'ticularly in the claims. I

T" e ruriii object or tbc invention is to provide couplino' for connecting the ends of straits for tbe purpose of transmitting ful l'in'lln'ovon'nnx do declaro and, cna desc-iin 1 7. as will enaoie which it appr;

ntl 1ers iwotion of oinafsbait 'to the other so to pri vine u yie labio driving connection be tween the sli: iu snob manner as to ina close ting contact between the parte, to obviate liability oiloss ci' motion, to compensate for wear between tbe contacting parts of the coupling, and also to enable the shafts to be properly coupled and insure a free and smooth running' movement of the sbatte; even though they Should not be in truc axial alinenzoit wiel; each otbcr.

The invention l'm'tbm' cfmtomDlatcs suoli a omstruction ol coujning as will enable the to be nrodufml cntii from slieet metal stampingsl so as to ol; late the .neces-A sity for machining the parte to insure proper lit, and thereby simy'lity, lighten and reduce tbc cost oi coustructiam.

The princiiml features of the invention reside in. the employment olj a uovelly constructed oouplin cr' 'f rr ell'ecting a driv ino; connection between .,.liobody coupling; members to provide an cx lisible driving contact between said maant-cls in a manuel" to attain a close cont wooo tlm driving 'parte so as to take up if A im,

l that woi'slf." re

d also enparts .i 1. c couplu to adjust abling,T the i.

' to accommodat any no themselves an: i

accuracy in insurinf' at all timos tbe synchronous more nient Speccation. of Letters atcn't.

objects are attained is illustrated in the aceoinpanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a side elevation of the cou- @ling as it would appear attached to the onus of a two-piece shaft for coupling the members together. lTig. 2 is a cross-sectional vieu' through one of the shafts on. dotted line 2 2 or' l1 ig. l, showing thecou pling in end elevation.I Fig. 3 is a central longitudinal section through the coupling members detached, showing in elevation the spider or coupling cross yfor connecting the coupling members. Fig. 4: is a front elevation' of one of the coupling members with the spider or coupling cross in position therein. Fig 5 is an elevation of the spider or coupling cross detached. Fig. 6 is a perspective View of tWo of a plurality of plates of which the coupling cross is composed. lig. 7 is a perspective View of the members of a housing or hub for binding the plates of the coupling cross together.

This coupling as a Whole consists of three parts, namely7 two' hollow coupling heads l which are substantially alike and adapted each lo. attachment to one end each or" a two-piece shaft 2 to be coupled, and interposed between these coupling heads is a spider or coupling cross 3 adapted to eHect a driving; connection between the coupling beads. llacb. of the heads l is preferably Alorincd by stamping to rshape from sheet metal and is provided at one side With a conccntrically formed laterally projecting sleeve Llv adapted for attachment to the end of the shaft 2 by the usual key `5, or other suitable means, to e'ect a rigid connection. The metal attlie inner or open ends of the heads l is turned outwardly at right-angles to the body portion in the form of laterally projecting circumferential liangos 6. Formed through the -faces of these flanges lialuotrically of thc heads and extending Well into the body thereof are notches or ways 'l' in which portions of the flanges 6 upon opposite sides of the ways 7 are turned inwardly at .right-angles in the torni olbear ingr shmildcre 8, by moans of which the bearing' surfaces upon opposite sides of the notches or Ways? are increased in. area/to include in addition to the thickness or gage 01* the metal the entire width oi" the face of tbe llange, as clearly shown in Figs. l and 3. flie coupling heads thus constructed are disposed upon the ends of the shaft 3 to beA `coupled in opposed relation to eachother with the notches or ways 7 of one head in a plane `at right-angles to the corresponding ways of the other head, and with the.

faces of the flanges adapted to abut each other. f

'opposed ways 7 of the coupling heads 1 is composed of a plurality of relatively thin sheet metal plates 9, as shown in Fig. 5.y

Each of these plates (seeFig. 6) is provided with a centrally off-set body or hub portion v10 extending from one edge thereof in the plane of the body of the plate, and extending centrally into said hub portion is a notch 11 which terminates on a line with the edge of the plate from which the hub portion 10 projects. The opposite edge of each plate 9 is provided with a relatively shalllow central recess 12. These plates are slightly dished or curved longitudinally and 'are nested together in groups of any suitable number, preferably four, and combined in pairs of groups with the crowning surfaces of the groupsof each pair opposed to each other (see Fig. 5). Two of the pairs of plates 9 thus grouped and combined are halvedjtogether at their centers and at rightangles to each other by placing the notches 11 of one group or pair with thev corresponding notches of the opposed pair, in which position the plates of one pair will voff-set theY plates of the opposite pair a distance equalto the Width of the major portion of the lates. In'this position the plates are irmiy bound together" attheir centers by means of a two-piece housing comprising a f cup-shaped body member 13 and a binding late 14, shown in Fig. 7..A 'Said body memer is provided with up-turned or right-angled projections 15 at vits periphery spaced inV diametrically opposite, relation to each other, and between which the pairs of plates forming'the coupling cross 8 extend. The upper ends of the projections 15 are reduced to form riveting tongues 16 thereon -that extend through correspondingly formed apertures 17 in the binding plate 14, and Which are riveted over to bind said plate thereon within the'recess 12 of one pair of plates 9 ,upon one side, while the body portion 13 of the housing is drawn intoA position 'within the recesses 12 of the other pair of opposed plates lupon the opposite side of said coupling cross, whereby the parts aire .tirmly bound together in a centrally formed hub from which the pairs of plates radiate in the manner of spokes or arms spaced equi-distant. Each arm comprises two groups of plates in which the outer e ends of each pair of groups normally diverge from each other and occupy an area slightly greater than the area of the dia- .metric Ways 7 in the coupling heads in `which they are to be seated. The coupling cross 2 thus constructed is interposedbetween the coupling heads 1. The ends of the groups of plates 9 forming the arms of one side are seated in the ways 7 of one of the coupling heads by compressirg the deflected ends toward each other suiiiciently to enable them to be entered therein, and the endsl of the arms upon the opposite side of the coupling cross are similarly seated in the corresponding ways of the opposite coupling heads in which they are seated, thereby insui-ing at all times a close tting working contact which, while preventing any relative rotary movement between the coupling heads, affords a suiiciently yieldable driving engagement to allow the necessary lateral movement of the coupling members upon the arms of the coupling cross so as to adjust themselves axially to compensate for variations in thealinement of the shafts so coupled.

Having thus fully set forth my invention,

what I claim as new, and desire to ysecure by Letters Patent, is

1. A shaft coupling comprising two coupling heads provided with means for httachment to the end of a shaft and having a way formed diametrically in the face thereof, said heads being opposed to each other with the way of one head disposed in a plane at right-angles to the way. of the opposite head, an intermediate coupling member composed of a plurality of relatively thin curved plates nested .together in groups and combined in reversely crowning pairs secured upon each other at rightangles to form radial arms bound together at their centers and having the plates at their free ends deflected in opposite directions from the transverse centers of said arms, the endsof the plates of said arms being expansively seated within the corresponding ways of the opposed coupling heads.

2. A shaft coupling comprising two hollow anged coupling heads each provided with a concentric sleeve for attachment to the end of a shaft and having a way extending diametrically through the flange and into the body of each of said heads, said heads being opposed to dispose the way of one head in a plane at right-angles to the ineens? l for attaolimentto the end of a shaft, and

having a way extending diametrieally through the flange and into the body of each of said heads, said heads being opposed, with the way of one head disposed in a plane at right-angles to the Way of the opposite head, an intermediate coupling ineinber comprising a plurality of relatively thin curved metal plates nested together in groups and combined in reversely crowning pairs of groups with the free ends of each pair of groups deiiected from each other, a second` pair of grouped plates crossing said first pair at right-angles, and a hub member having a binding plate for `confining said grouped plates oentrilly together, the free ends of one pair of grouped plates seated Within the Way of one of said heads and the free ends ot' the other of said pair of grouped plates seated within the Way of the opposite coupling head.

'in testimony wliereoi sign this specilication in the presence of two Witnesses.

EDV/'ARD J., MADDEN. lfVitnesses:

B. F. W'HEELER, M. E. BROESAMLE. 

